JJ's sister had been wanting to come to visit us in Colima, she hasn't had the opportunity of traveling much around Mexico besides some small towns by the border with Arizona. She was finally able to experience a different side of this amazing country and now she has a different perspective of it.
Since she was going to be visiting only for a week, we planned a nice getaway to the ocean side of Colima and to the city of Guadalajara; that way she was able to enjoy different adventures.
She flew direct to Guadalajara from Phoenix with Volaris airlines, which is the one we usually like to fly with for its conveniences; specially when we fly within Mexico and to the States.
The adventure started the following morning when we drove to the Port of Manzanillo which is the biggest city in Colima by the Pacific Ocean and the busiest in Mexico. The city is known as the "Sailfish Capitol of the World" since 1957, it has hosted important national and international fishing competitions, such as the Dorsey Tournament, making it a very attractive fishing destination.
Manzanillo hasn't had the support to become a well known international tourism destination since local government has focused mostly in the port industry but, the city offers all the amenities to satisfy the needs of its visitors, including an international airport. There is a small community of expats living here full time and in winter the city welcomes a good amount of snowbirds that are happy to enjoy the warm weather and the amazing ocean views.
We stayed at the Dolphin Cove Inn Hotel which sits on a hill and faces one of the two bays in Manzanillo, the views are amazing from this charming hotel; the courtyards are full of bougainvillea and palm trees giving this place a very exotic touch and making it perfect to walk through its paths.
After spending two days relaxing in this paradise, it was time to drive to Guadalajara for our next adventure; on our way, we stopped in the small beach town of Cuyutlan. This place is located about 20 minutes south of Manzanillo and it has one of the most beautiful beaches in Colima.
Cuyutlan is a very laid back place, there is not much to do around but there is something special about this cute town that JJ and I like. There are few hotels and restaurants and many beautiful houses along the beach that are for rent; what we enjoy the most about going to this place is sitting under the umbrellas right on the beach and enjoy the fresh seafood made by the locals, looking at the ocean and listening to the sound of the waves while having a beer is just the perfect scenario for us.
Our time in Cuyutlan was wonderful, even Kelly enjoyed it so much that she didn't want to leave but, we still had to make our way to Guadalajara. We drove for about three hours on the toll road having some amazing views of the countryside, mountains and canyons; we decided to stay in Tlaquepaque which is a very artsy area in Guadalajara and close to the historical center. This place is full of art galleries, restaurants, cafes, hotels and offers all kind of amenities while preserving the feel of a small colonial town.
I found a B&B about three blocks away from the main square and the shopping area, which made it easy for us to walk around and explore the surroundings. "Casa del Retono" is a very charming, comfortable and affordable hotel with a nice back yard that offers great service and it has a very friendly staff.
After a long day of driving and exploring around, it felt good to sleep in a comfortable bed ;O)
We woke up the following morning with the sing of the birds, it was a new day and we had to get ready for our next adventure. As many of you know, the state of Jalisco produces some of the best tequila so we decided to take a tour of the Tequila Trail.
We booked our tour with Gdl Tours DMC, Gustavo, the manager, picked us up at the hotel and took us to where the bus departed from... that's how the tequila adventure started!
Our first stop was at "Tequila Tres Mujeres" a distillery where we learned the process and the different qualities of this ancestral drink. "Tres Mujeres" is an 100% organic tequila and one of the best internationally; organic tequila doesn't have any kind of chemicals so there is no hangover effects after a long happy night, plus it's consider very medicinal for locals... Lets drink! :O)
The process of making tequila is very simple and interesting, first step is getting the blue agave plants ready to put in the oven to cook with steam for about two days, then they grind it to extract all the juices; this juice goes through a fermentation process and the final step is the distillation. Being on the agave fields, perceiving all the smells and tasting the final results was a great experience!
Our next stop was at the famous town of Tequila, Jalisco where we were able to explore some tequila galleries, learned about its history and enjoyed the picturesque surroundings. Then we had time for our Mexican lunch and rest for awhile before returning back to Guadalajara.
It was a long day but now I can say that we have more knowledge about tequila. The bus left us in the historical center of Guadalajara so we were able to walk around and appreciate the beauty of this city before heading back to the B&B.
This is how our little adventure ended, the following day Kelly flew back to Arizona and we drove back home to Colima.
Safe travels my friends!
